


Unconditional Surrender

by CeruleanTactician



Series: dark universe [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Adult Connie, Adult Steven, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, American Presidents, Dark, Dark Character, Dark Steven, Evil Steven, Future Fic, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, POV Character of Color, POV Female Character, POV Second Person, Regret, Rose Quartz was pink diamond, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000, Wordcount: Over 1.000, pov connie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-27
Updated: 2016-01-27
Packaged: 2018-05-16 12:33:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5829145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CeruleanTactician/pseuds/CeruleanTactician
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Connie Maheswaran reunites with her old friend, Steven Universe. (future fic, evil!Steven AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unconditional Surrender

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [these](http://discount-supervillain.tumblr.com/post/137054699392/at-least-he-didnt-leave-his-family-behind-heh%0A/) [two](http://havesomemoore.tumblr.com/post/117994218453/what-if-steven-grew-up-to-be-a-huge-jerk-as-well/) amazing pieces of fan art.

Steven was still something else. He had a presence that made everyone in the room nervous, even the Secret Service agents. You understood. He was tall, and huge. He wore a pastel pink cape (was it fur?), and the gems that decorated his armor, which anyone else would have mistaken for a child’s art project. You, however, were unlucky enough to understand the meaning of it. So you stood there, sickened with your own recognition of their significance.

For a few moments, you expect him to offer his hand for you to shake, like any other world leader you meet. You then realize that, of course, Pink Diamond would know nothing of this human custom, so you don't offer your hand either.

The agreement itself was simple: unconditional surrender, and humanity and the Earth survived. It was a good deal in comparison to what most got. Your scientists who had seen the destruction the other planets Steven- Pink Diamond and his people had caused, told you as much. Anything but surrender wasn't an option, even without that evidence. You'd seen enough with your own two eyes in Beach City, growing up. Pink Diamond, you knew, was probably being sentimental in showing mercy to his former planet and species. You had no reason to test him.

What had happened to him? You can still remember the Steven who cried when the bad guys died on TV. You can still remember your first and best friend, the one who encourage you to follow this path.

When had it started? You force yourself to remember. Perhaps after you left. Your mother had gotten an offer she couldn’t refuse from a university a few hours away from Beach City. So you moved away. Steven cried the whole time, and you both promised to write and call and visit. And you did. But… over the years, you got busier. You grew up, and you grew up without him by your side like you’d wanted. You aren’t even sure who was entirely to blame, you or him. The visits and calls and letters became less frequent, shorter, and less familiar until one day it became more obligation than friendship. And then, one day, they stopped and you had hardly noticed. You had bigger dreams, and bigger plans.

Occasionally you’d see him in a stranger’s smile or an act of kindness, and it’d hurt and you’d think back to brighter, younger days. But your future seemed even brighter than your nostalgia and memories. You did truly wish him the best, but his destiny was his and yours was yours. So you filled your hours with studying and volunteering, and you followed your dreams. 

You never forgot the unforgettable and impossible things you saw in Beach City- though, as you grew older, you began to doubt, ever so slightly. After all, most of it was probably just two bored kids with overactive imaginations. Or maybe it hadn't been. Either way, it no longer affected you. People just drifted apart. It was no one's fault. It just happened sometimes.

Still. At least it helped you be more open minded. And as you gained power- youngest Representative to Delmarva ever elected- it all seemed to matter less and less.

You kept your eye on Beach City in the news. Weird stuff still happened, but it never got beyond the scope of local news and conspiracy theory blogs. At least not until the day it burned, along with everyone in it. Even today, no one is sure quite what happened. Terrorism? Natural disaster? The official story was impossible for you to believe, but not enough so for the average citizen not to move on. You realized the truth from the moment you heard the news. It was the Gems, the aliens. Your position in the government allowed you to give the truth to them and be believed. 

Everyone in Beach City was presumed dead, as the remain were… difficult to find. You found a victim’s list and saw the name “Steven Quartz Universe”. You suppose, in a way, the real Steven died that day. It would have been better if that were the truth. You think that he and his father were given a funeral by some relatives who lived out of town, because after a few weeks of searching you eventually found graves with their names on them. 

As an important official in the state, you'd been to half a dozen ceremonies grieving those lost in Beach City by the time you made your way to their graves. You connection to Beach City, having lived there for years, made you appear authentic, your advisers told you. Your approval ratings were going up, they also told you. You resisted the urge to fire them all when they said that. You knew they meant well.

You left pink roses at their graves and felt overdressed. After all, it was just you out there. Whoever Steven’s relatives were, they decided to leave the gravestones blank besides the names and the dates. You were angry at yourself for a variety of reasons, one of those reasons being mourning so strongly for someone who you hadn't spoken to in years. Anyways, you had hoped that visiting it would give you a sense of closure.

It didn't work.

“President Maheswaran.” His voice is deeper, and formal, but you can still recognize it. You wonder why he is bothering to put on a show like this. Is it for your sake? His? Amethyst’s gem, adorned on Steven’s armor, glints in the light. You thought gems could regenerate after they were forced into their gems. Why wasn't Amethyst doing that? Had something been done to her, to make her not want to...

“Pink Diamond.” you respond. It’s what he’s instructed you all to call him, so you do. You know that any disobedience will likely have consequences for your people. You won’t try to test him in this regard either.

It’s over. There’s no point in being brave anymore.

All that’s left is for you to sign the treaty of surrender. The United Nations had already granted you signing authority for the people of Earth, so you clicked the pen. It had already all been over since the UN. This was merely a formality. 

Steven already had a pen. He signed first. His handwriting was almost ridiculous, just as childish as it was when you last saw it when he wrote “Pink Diamond”. 

It sounds so ridiculous. All of it. You want to laugh, or cry. But you don't. You have more important duties.

So, in one quick and practiced movement of a pen, you sign away the Earth and everything and everyone on it.

“Thank you.” says Steven in a way that almost sounds genuine. Maybe it is. Maybe you’re giving him a way to avoid having to destroy the Earth like he’s destroyed every other planet he’s conquered. Maybe there’s something of the Steven Universe you knew left in him.

He smiles. You don't smile back. It's done.

But his intentions, however interesting to ponder are ultimately meaningless. He goes back in his ship and doesn’t look back. You go to the East Room of the White House to tell the people of Earth what you’ve just done.


End file.
